HARENDRA: Living his passion

By Paritosh Pramanik

Don’t run with the ball. Pass…run…pass…run…pass...run’ read the board placed in hands of Indian hockey coach Harendra Singh. It was during the break of one of India’s matches during the Champions Trophy in Breda, The Netherlands last month. Harendra was giving instructions to his players during the half-time break how to move on the field.
The Indian team led by PR Sreejesh, despite losing the final on penalties to defending champions Australia, stunned all with their fast-paced game. India retained the silver medal but the result was far better than what it was in the previous edition.
After the Champions Trophy final loss to Australia, Harendra had said in an interview to PTI, “Everyone understood that Australia didn’t win the gold, we gave it to them. We had only ourselves to blame. I told them there was no point in crying now. We got the medal that we deserved. We had to do more and now we have two further chances this year (Asian Games and World Cup) of improving on the colour of medal we won. However, it was a teaching moment for us. The team knew they couldn’t leave things to shootouts next time.”
That is Harendra Singh for you -- A no-nonsense, straightforward and on-the-face Indian coach who believes in results. Harendra is passionate for Indian hockey and its progress.
The ‘Kabir Khan’ (Chak De fame) of Indian hockey would go to any extent to see his Indian hockey team stand on the podium and sing the National Anthem. Then, be it the junior team in World Cup or the women’s team in Asia Cup or his franchise in Hockey India League. He wants his wards to win topmost rewards on offer.
It has been after a decade or so that an Indian has been appointed as chief coach of the hockey team. In those last 10 years Harendra has been sort of ‘Man Friday’ for Indian hockey. He was assistant coach to Spain’s Vasudev Baskaran and later to Spaniard Jose Brasa. He also worked under the world famous Dutch coach Roelant Oltmans when he was in charge of Indian hockey.
Harendra always craved for India’s coach job but destiny, like his playing career, played cruel games with him every time. After Harendra guided junior Indian men’s hockey team to World Cup, he was expecting a ‘promotion’ to coach the senior side. Instead, he was handed the reins of senior women’s team, a totally new assignment with the girls’ squad.
However, Harendra, as always, accepted the challenge and transformed the also-rans into Asian Champions. That too, at a very short notice.
Hockey India has always turned to Harendra when in trouble. For them it was like ‘Dial Harendra’ to deliver. And the Bihar born Air India employee did not disappoint.
Harendra, who calls legendary coach Australian Ric Charlesworth as his guru, is passionate about coaching. Hockey is his first love. He puts hockey above his family. This, he proved when he refused to attend a funeral of his cousin while he was working with the Indian junior hockey team a few years ago. The team was about to leave for Johor Cup in Malaysia and Harendra decided to be with the boys instead of attending the funeral.
Not all good players could become good coaches. But Harendra, a former Indian defender, is an exception. He could not achieve the tag of an Olympian in his playing days. Despite being one of the best defenders in the country, Harendra was overlooked for the 1996 Olympics and at that moment he decided to create Olympians. Fortunately, he has done it with aplomb with around 25-30 players already being Olympians today.
His man-management skills are good and he knows the mentality of players. He also maintains a database of whatever he has learnt over the years. And above all, he knows how to get the best out of his players.
The Dronacharya award winner Harendra is obsessed with hockey and wants to teach players new things every time. Many would be surprised to know that Harendra is the only FIH certified Indian coach till date. He holds a degree from FIH in coaching. Harendra is so passionate about hockey and learning new tricks of the game that he had travelled to places on his own to watch matches, tournaments that did not even feature Indian team. During his FIH course, he had become common face in the stands with a notepad taking notes of every team and their style of play. Such is his devotion towards the game.
Harendra’s style of coaching is different from what former Indian coaches used to. They would not get tired of singing praises about the golden period of Indian hockey. Harendra wants to live in the present. He loves gadgets and technology. He was the first Indian coach to introduce GPS for players to track their speed and stamina.
According to reports, Harendra has also incorporated ‘Yo-Yo test’ for Indian hockey several years ago. He wants the team to be as fit as their opponents.
Harendra has an ability to bolster confidence of players with his pep talks. He motivates them and makes them feel like a champion.
It is not only players who need to keep learning all the time. Coaches, too, need to keep themselves up-to-date with the latest trends. Harendra is that kind of coach. He stays awake till 3 in the morning watching videos and clippings of foreign teams only to wake up a few hours later and teach those nuances to his wards.
The best thing that works for Harendra is his style of coaching. He becomes player while coaching the side. He puts himself in that position and take feel of the situation. While explaining, Harendra speaks the language the players understand. Indian hockey has players from different part of the country with different spoken languages. Hindi seems to be the best suited for all. Harendra interacts them in Hindi most of the time. The players understand easily and execute the plan well.
Being like an elder brother to players, Harendra is a hard taskmaster too. He is one of the strictest coaches in India. He never goes by the popularity and stature of a player. If a player has done any mistake, he gets dressing down in front of all. But at the same time, they are loved like a family member while dealing with any problem.
Not only coaching, Harendra also looks at the diet part of players and wants all to follow fitness regime with devotion. He wants his team to play with full energy, speed and stamina, they should show they are powerful too hence he also looks after their fitness and strength training.
“Fitness and strengths is one of the strong points of the Europeans. I don’t want any player to carry extra weight on their body that can be a hindrance to the team. We want a lean and strong body,” Harendra had told ‘The Field’ when he was the women’s team coach.
India have hired several foreign coaches but very few know that Harendra has an experience of coaching a European team, though a club side.
In 1995, when Harendra was playing for HC Lyon in French League, he was asked to coach the junior side. It was from there Harendra gave a serious thought to take up coaching.
Harendra has come a long way and has seen many ups and downs in his playing as well as coaching career. He has one more chance to prove himself with the senior men’s squad. His target is straight. Strike gold at Asian Games and book ticket to Tokyo 2020. That will also give Hockey India ample time to settle the team for Olympics.
The Asian Games and World Cup will be another examination for Harendra. His performance from touchlines would determine future of Indian hockey. He has coached the juniors to gold medal at World Cup, the women to gold at Asia Cup and now it’s time to replicate the same magic and take the seniors to top of the world.
Though it is only three months at the helm for Harendra, it won’t be difficult for him to guide the men’s side to the podium in the Asian Games and Odisha Hockey World Cup to be held at Bhubaneshwar in November and December.